Selenium HQ vs SmartBear LoadNinja comparison

Selenium HQ is an umbrella project that includes a number of tools and frameworks that allow for web browser automation. In particular, Selenium offers a framework for the W3C WebDriver specification, a platform- and language-neutral coding interface that works with all of the main web browsers.

Selenium is a toolset for automating web browsers that uses the best methods available to remotely control browser instances and simulate a user's interaction with the browser. It enables users to mimic typical end-user actions, such as typing text into forms, choosing options from drop-down menus, checking boxes, and clicking links in documents. Additionally, it offers a wide range of other controls, including mouse movement, arbitrary JavaScript execution, and much more.

Although Selenium HQ is generally used for front-end website testing, it is also a browser user agent library. The interfaces are universal in their use, which enables composition with other libraries to serve your purpose.

The source code for Selenium is accessible under the Apache 2.0 license. The project is made possible by volunteers who have kindly committed hundreds of hours to the development and maintenance of the code.

Selenium HQ Tools

These three main Selenium HQ tools have powerful capabilities:

• WebDriver: If you are just starting out with desktop or mobile website test automation, you will be using WebDriver APIs. WebDriver controls the browser and executes tests using the automation APIs that browser vendors provide. This gives the impression that a real person is using the browser. Because WebDriver's API does not need to be compiled alongside application code, it is not intrusive. As a result, you can test the same application that you push live.
  
  
• IDE: Develop your Selenium test cases using an IDE (integrated development environment). The most effective way to create test cases is to utilize this simple Chrome and Firefox extension. IDE uses Selenium commands that are already in use to record user activity in the browser with parameters set by the context of the element. This is an excellent approach to learning Selenium script syntax and will save you time.
  
  
• Grid: You can run test cases on several machines and operating systems with Selenium Grid. The local end controls how the test cases are triggered, and the remote end automatically runs the test cases after they are triggered.

Reviews from Real Users

Selenium HQ stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its driver interface and its speed. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

Avijit B., an automation tester at a tech services company, writes of the solution, “The driver interface is really useful. When we implement the Selenium driver interface, we can easily navigate through all of the pages and sections of an app, including performing things like clicking, putting through SendKeys, scrolling down, tagging, and all the other actions we need to test for in an application.”

Another PeerSpot reviewer, a software engineer at a financial services firm, notes, “Selenium is the fastest tool compared to other competitors. It can run on any language, like Java, Python, C++, and .NET. So we can test any application on Selenium, whether it's mobile or desktop."

SmartBear LoadNinja is a cloud-based next-generation tool designed to develop and implement automated load tests for web services and web applications. LoadNinja helps organizations test their web server’s performance during tremendous load and will determine scalability and define overall dynamics.

Load testing is integral in today's aggressive marketplace so that organizations can quickly and easily determine how their web servers will operate during extreme load (requests). LoadNinja intuitively creates load tests using automation developed by documenting past interactions over web pages and reproduces these interactions with hundreds of virtual users (VUs) simultaneously. These tests help organizations fully comprehend what load their websites, pages, etc, can successfully sustain without interruption or downtime.

LoadNinja provides various metrics, such as CPU usage and traffic generated during each test run. LoadNinja integrates well with many of today’s popular browsers and web servers.

LoadNinja Testing - How it works:

• Develop a UI or API test scenario: These are single-instance tests. Each test is representative of an actual application usage process, such as updating client information, making or tracking an order, etc. A UI test replicates the actions of one user on the tested website. An API test replicates the behavior of one client application. Organizations will run these tests numerous times to replicate tremendous load on the specified web application being tested.

• Load testing scenario: This is the example of an organization’s load test. The scenario will integrate one of many single-instance tests, designate the number of virtual users (VUs), advance load parameters, and other specific metrics.
  
• Work the scenario: LoadNinja processes the load tests in the cloud and provides cloud machines automatically for the entirety of the test. During a UI test, each VU utilizes a real browser to conduct a test action to interact with the organization's web applications appropriately mimicking real user responses, including “think times” and experiencing client-side scripts. Throughout the entire process, LoadNinja will create real-time charts so that organizations are able to best monitor test metrics and the overall wellbeing of the application.
  
• Study the results: Once the test is finished, LoadNinja will create a report detailing all the critical performance metrics gathered during the test. This report will give a good determination of an organization’s server capabilities and if it meets the established SLA.

Top Features:

• Real-life load tests, simulated real user actions: LoadNinja will document real user actions on the site to be tested, then replicate those actions with the assistance of hundreds or even thousands of virtual users. This ensures load tests are as close to real-life processes as possible. LoadNinja does not just test one URL of a website; it replicates the entire user experience. This is one feature that differentiates LoadNinja from most other solutions in the marketplace.
  
• Real browsers, real user replication: LoadNInja replays the documented traffic from real browsers. Every VU utilizes its own browser; there is no overlapping. LoadNinja precisely replicates each user action. Whatever code or script is used, it will be completely tested for every page.
  
• Develop tests quickly and easily: Organizations are able to quickly develop UI tests by documenting user actions in the embedded browser. API tests can be developed using the embedded request editor. There is no coding, downloading, or installation of browser plugins necessary.
  
• Scales easily: LoadNinja is a cloud solution; there is no need to designate drive space or add extra “agent” devices to save recorded scripts or test results. LoadNinja does it all intuitively and automatically in the cloud. Organizations simply choose the determined amount of VUs desired to replicate, and begin. It’s that simple!